Trip Ideas The Airlines That Will Have New Baggage Bans in 2018 (Video) Find out if your favorite bag is affected. By Jess McHugh Jess McHugh Twitter Website Jess McHugh is a journalist, author, and researcher who has reported from North and South America, Europe, the Caribbean, and West Africa. She's written hundreds of stories, ranging from the fight to preserve world heritage in Palmyra, Syria, to the story of the first American dictionary. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, The Paris Review, Time, New York Magazine, The New Republic, Fortune, Village Voice, International Business Times, CNN, Avidly (Los Angeles Review of Books), AFP Services, The Believer, Lapham's Quarterly, Teen Vogue, Business Insider, InStyle, Dame, Thrillist, Man Repeller, and Travel + Leisure, among others. She can be found between New York City and Paris. * 8+ years of experience working as a writer and researcher * Author of "Americanon" (Dutton, Penguin-Random House, 2021) * Bilingual in French and English * Former staff reporter at Time Inc. and International Business Times. * Received a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from Yale University Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on December 19, 2017 Share Tweet Pin Email Several airlines are banning certain types of smart luggage starting in January, amid fears that their batteries could cause fires onboard. If you have a smart bag, now is the time to check if it will be allowed. Delta Air Lines, Southwest, American, and Alaska Airlines are among the U.S. carriers banning smart luggage that contains non-removable batteries. The bans go into effect on Jan. 15, 2018. 16 Smart Luggage Options That Will Transform Your Travel Experience Travelers will still be able to bring their smart luggage — as long as it has a removable battery. That way, if a bag must be checked, gate agents can ask passengers to remove the battery and carry it with them. (The primary fire concern is that if it's in the cargo hold, crews will not be able to put it out before serious damage is done to the aircraft.) Getty Images Smart luggage has grown in popularity in the past few years, as bags let passengers charge their devices, avoiding the awkward struggle of sitting on a dirty airport floor while charging a cellphone or laptop. Some smart bags even follow their owners around. Luggage brand Away will not be affected by the restrictions, as the company's bags have removable batteries. Smart luggage company Bluesmart does not make bags with removable batteries, and their CEO told The Verge that this new rule was a “travesty.” The FAA has long had rules restricting lithium-ion batteries inside checked luggage; the administration went so far as to propose a worldwide ban on putting laptops in checked luggage earlier this year over fire fears. And anyone who had a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will recall the tremendous effort to get the phones — and their lithium-ion batteries — off aircraft. The International Air Transport Association published guidelines for smart luggage earlier this year, noting that bags would need to have removable batteries in order to be checked in the cargo hold. The agency is expected to supplement its rules in 2018. International airlines, including Virgin Australia and Qantas, have already imposed restrictions on the use of smart luggage. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit